# twinge

> English word · Verb · IPA /twɪnd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #51,466

## Definitions
1. To have a sudden, pinching or sharp pain in a specific part of the body, like a twitch.
2. To pull and twist.
3. To pull and twist (someone or something); to pinch, to tweak, to twitch, to wring.
4. To affect or torment (someone, their mind, or part of their body) with one or more sudden, pinching or sharp pains; to irritate.
5. To prick or stimulate (one's conscience).

## Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English twengen (“to nip, pinch, tweak; to tear at”), from Old English twenġan (“to pinch, squeeze”), from Proto-West Germanic *twangijan (“to pinch, squeeze”), from Proto-Germanic *twangijaną (“to pinch, squeeze”), the causative form of *twinganą (“to press, squeeze”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to *þwangiz (“belt, strap, thong; pressure, restraint”) or *þwinganą, *þwinhaną (“to constrain; to force”) (whence German zwingen), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *twenk- (“to press, pressure, squeeze”). However, the Oxford English Dictionary says there is no evidence for such a relationship.
The noun is derived from the verb.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/twinge